The Storm Of Dogs Tour: Seattle, WA

Posted by Gillian Philip on 23 February 2015. 3 Comments so far.

Hey, I thought it was supposed to rain all the time in Seattle! You know, with all the sparkly vampires and everything… But the Cullens must have been in hiding for my visit, because the sun was out and shining the whole time. I reckon you’re kidding me about the grey skies 😉

My first stop, with my gorgeous escort Diane, was at the Jane Addams Middle School, a new school that’s just opened in a revamped building. The students were super-friendly and super-helpful, especially Angel and Sandesh who were my hosts for the day along with dedicated librarian Laurie (and thank you for my special Seattle honey products, Laurie – I love them!). Laurie, together with the fabulous Nancy from Barnes & Noble, Northgate, is organising a Book Fair right now to raise funds for Jane Addams and their music bands and clubs. It’s a fantastic project, so if you live in Seattle, do get on down to Barnes & Noble at Northgate and buy something to support this wonderful cause.

After a Seattle sushi lunch with Diane, and a quick stop at Fran’s chocolate shop (my taste buds nearly died of happiness), we were off to Bryant Elementary for my last school event. It was a great one to go out on, with plenty of lively students in the audience from grades four right down to kindgarten – and the little ‘uns were so well-behaved! I loved Anne’s wonderful library with its welcoming foyer and posters and murals.

I had a little free time after Bryant to head down Pine Street to the Pike Place market (Suzy and Juliet in Portland were the first to tell me to go there, and it was such good advice). I caught plenty of fish-throwing (though luckily I didn’t have to catch any actual fish) and had a fabulous time shopping. And of course I had to hit the original Starbucks!

On my way back to the hotel I stopped in at the downtown Barnes & Noble to say hi to Molly and the staff there, and do loads of book-signing. Thank you for letting me scrawl on so much of your stock!

Finally, it was off to Northgate for my very last event at the Barnes & Noble there. Nancy had done a fantastic job organising and promoting a fun and friendly event that also benefited the Jane Addams book fair – and extra special thanks go to Carolyn and Mari, who came along at the last minute to handle the school side of things. Carolyn dropped everything (including dinner!) to help out, and we were so grateful to you both. THANK YOU! And it was so great to meet you!

It was a terrific turnout, and as always I loved meeting everyone and chatting to you all about the Erin Hunter books. And a huge shout-out to Sydney and Griffin (and your patient parents), who were not just the last in the queue on Wednesday, but the last of this tour! I had a blast, so thank you to Nancy and everyone at Barnes & Noble, both for a great event and for my Seattle magnets, chocolate and book!

So the Survivors: Storm of Dogs tour reached its end, which was sad – but I hope one day I’ll be back. My absolute final treat was seeing my aunt and uncle for breakfast on Thursday morning – we hadn’t met up for twenty years, and they’d come down specially from Victoria, British Columbia. It was such a thrill to see them!

So it’s bye for now, Pack-mates – but I’d love to see you all again. Thank you for a wonderful, memorable tour, and for being the best fans and readers in the world.

Howls, hugs and kisses to you all!

Gillian/Erin xxx

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3 responses to “The Storm Of Dogs Tour: Seattle, WA”

Oh, just noticed that we had missed you! My daughter will be so upset! She is an 11-year-old avid reader of the Erin Hunter books. I am writing from Seattle…Was at the Northgate Barnes and Noble earlier today and saw your autographed books. When had the author visited Seattle, I asked. A little over a month ago, was the response. Egad! I didn’t know! My daughter attends John Rogers Elementary School, which feeds into Jane Addams Middle School. All of her Girl Scout friends and some of her soccer friends attend Bryant Elementary School. Will have to speak with the kids and their parents regarding their impressions of these coveted events. My daughter and I will meanwhile keep our eyes and ears open for the next time you or one of the other Erin Hunter cohorts are in town…A bientot! Paula 🙂

Oh no, Paula, I’m so sorry I missed you both! I absolutely loved Seattle and really hope to be back some time – I was at the Barnes & Noble at Northgate for my event and I had a blast there, but I popped in to the Downtown branch too. Please say hi to your daughter from me – next time I am there (I hope!), it would be great to meet you, and please do introduce yourselves! I hope your daughter loves Jane Addams when she moves up – it seemed like a wonderful school with a great atmosphere. All the best! Gillian

Thanks Gillian! Yes, Seattle’s a wonderful place! I have been here for almost 20 years; I’m originally from the Washington, D.C./Maryland/Virginia area (which I also love dearly). I visited Scotland, Wales, and England 30 years ago when a friend of mine was spending her junior year abroad at the University of Kent in Canterbury. Perhaps I’ll look you up if we ever get out your way again! –Paula–